


I've Lost Your Tune

by seratonation



Series: Family is Relative [8]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Adoption, Baby Peter, Broken Steve, Family, M/M, Superfamily, Superhusbands, broken tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-21
Updated: 2013-02-21
Packaged: 2017-12-03 03:37:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/693671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seratonation/pseuds/seratonation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Family, more often than not, is what you make it. Tony is still not sure what to do with his, but he's going to make damn sure he protects it as much as he can.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I've Lost Your Tune

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Shannen for the beta, as always her words encourage mine <3 Title from 'Soon You'll Be Found' by The Lighthouse and The Whaler.
> 
> Warning for mentions of suicide, but nothing graphic (that one scene in the movie is talked about). None graphic violence of the canonical type.

He saw floating lights. Soft and white. Angels, he thought distantly, but that wasn’t right. He was not going to heaven. Someone was calling his name from far away, but he wasn’t sure who it was. Maybe someone who was still alive. 

A shape formed in front of him, all in white. This was it, then. The end of his life. He can’t say he was really surprised. 

“Tony?” the figure said from in front of him, “can you hear me?” 

That’s a strange question to ask. He was dead, he can’t talk anymore. Then he had a horrifying thought: what if he was actually going to hell and it was filled with stupid people. 

“I don’t believe in heaven,” someone said, and he realised it was him. 

“That’s okay, Tony,” the angel said, “we don’t judge. This is going to hurt a little.”

The angel was a liar. It hurt a lot.

***

When Tony woke up, he wasn’t dead. He was in an all too familiar looking hospital wing. 

“Fuck,” he muttered. 

“Daddy has to put a dollar in the swear jar,” he heard a whisper off to his right, and clamped down the urge to swear again. 

He closed his eyes and opened them again.

“Daddy sure does,” another voice said, and this one had so many layers to it, it was hard to pinpoint exactly what the tone meant. 

“Does this mean daddy is okay?” the first voice said, young and innocent.

“Yeah,” the more grown up voice said. Steve, it was Steve, “he’s getting better.”

The bed shifted as a weight was placed on it, and a hand was on his forehead, big and warm and reassuring.

***

“How can you - what were you thinking? You could have died!” Steve was saying. Tony had stopped listening about 5 minutes ago. 

“But I didn't,” Tony said, rolling his eyes, like this was normal. 

“You can’t keep doing this, what if something happens to you?” Steve said, adjusting Peter, who was nestled in his arms, watching the two of them talk with a thumb in his mouth. 

“That’s a risk we take, that’s a risk we always take,” Tony said, “every time we go out there.”

“You’re taking risks you don't _need_ to take,” Steve said, trying to keep his voice calm. 

“You have no idea do you, everything I do is closely calculated-”

“What?” Steve interrupted, giving up any pretence of being calm, “How do you even measure that? What’s the worth of your life, of your sons life without you? What happens to us if you die?” 

“You would be just fine.”

Steve reeled back as if Tony had hit him. Without another word he turned around and left, Peter still in his arms. 

***

“Oh, Tony, you really said that?”

“Pep come on, you know Steve, you know the situation-” Tony said, trying to explain.

“I do,” she said, “I know it better than you, because Steve would be absolutely shattered without you.”

“But he’ll get over it,” Tony said, raising an eyebrow - because obviously, why couldn’t anyone else see his point?

“You really think that?” Pepper said, raising an eyebrow right back at him, “Tony, Steve hasn’t even gotten over Bucky, and Bucky came back-”

“Bucky was different-”

“Yes,” Pepper pressed, “you are more important to him than Bucky. You are his sons father, and do you really think _Peter_ would be fine without you?”

“It takes a village,” he said quietly, “one less wouldn't be a big deal.” But she could see comprehension slowly making its way into his thick skull.

“But you’re his dad,” she said, “his world revolves around you and Steve.”

“That doesn't make sense, Pepper,” he argued, “one thing can’t revolve around two.”

“To Peter you and Steve aren’t two, you’re parts of the whole.” 

Tony fell quiet, finally out of arguments to counter her with. 

“When did you get smarter than me?” he asked sullenly. 

“I’ve always been smarter than you, Tony,” she said, smiling, “I’m just more careful how I use my knowledge.”

She got up and kissed him on the forehead. “I’ll get Steve so you can apologise.” And she walked out.

***

When Steve returned, he was alone.

“Where’s Peter?” Was the first thing Tony asked. 

“He’s with Pepper,” Steve said, sitting down in the chair by Tony’s bed, “she said you guys talked?”

“Yeah. Listen Steve, I didn’t mean what I said before. I mean, I did, I think you would take excellent care of Peter if something were to happen to me, but you- I guess, maybe you wouldn’t be _fine_ , and obviously right? I’m awesome, just like I wouldn’t be fine if- if-” he stopped and took a breath, licked his lips and finally made eye contact with Steve. 

“You’re a great dad,” he said, “and a great person, better than I am, and sometimes I wonder how this is my life, but everything, _everything_ I do is to protect it. I just want to keep my family safe, and-”

“Tony, Tony stop, just-” Steve said, pinching the bridge of his nose, “are you apologising for getting hit or for what you said? Are you even apologising?” 

“I am!” Tony said, “Are you listening at all? What I’m saying is I’m stupidly in love with you, like, it makes me lose IQ points, and sometimes it makes me do stupid things, like jump in front of alien lasers or say stupid things and - and I’m sorry, there I said it."

"Tony, it's okay to want to protect us, but we need you to be around to do it for longer. There's no point in doing it once, because there will always be trouble, there will always be something. But we need you to be alive at the end of it so you can do it again. I can't do this alone."

Tony was quiet for a long time, long enough that Steve didn't think he was going to reply. When he finally spoke up, Steve wished he hadn't. 

"I can't make any promises," he said, "when we’re out there it's different, I can tell you I’ll try my best. But we both know there's no predicting how it will go."

"It's enough that you know," Steve said, "maybe you can account better for it next time. You should get some rest.” He stood up, and with a last squeeze of Tony’s arm he left. 

***

“I hate this,” Tony said, “let me go home.”

“The doctors think you won’t get any rest if they let you go home,” Bruce replied, “for some reason they think you’ll overwork yourself the first chance you get.”

“Now that is an outright lie,” Tony said, “I am very good at resting.”

“Of course you are,” Bruce said.

“I’m just frustrated,” Tony continued, “I miss my house, and my bed, and my family.”

“I’ll talk to them,” Bruce said, “no promises, though.”

But Bruce must have worked his magic because Tony was home before the end of the next week, as long as he promised he’d stay in bed for at least another week. 

He tried to go down to the workshop on the first day he was back and was stopped by Steve.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Steve asked, blocking his path.

“I just need-” Tony started, trying to get around him but Steve was shaking his head. 

“Tony.”

“Steve.”

“Back to bed.”

Tony planted his feet, pulled himself to his full height and looked Steve in the eye. “Make me.”

Steve heaved a sigh, bent his knees and picked Tony up bridal style. 

Tony struggled but there was no way Steve was letting him down. And, even though he’d never admit it, everything still hurt if he moved too much. 

So Steve took him to bed, sat down on the big couch in the corner and pulled his notepad close to him. 

“What are you doing?” Tony asked, pushing himself up so his back was against the headboard. 

“Babysitting,” Steve said. 

“I think you have the wrong Stark here,” Tony said. 

“I’m pretty sure the other Stark is a Parker,” Steve said, not looking up from the paper, his pencil making smooth lines, “and I’m even more sure he needs less babysitting than you.”

When Tony didn’t reply, Steve looked up to see him staring back. 

“Well, what am I supposed to do all day?” 

“You’re the one that wanted to come home,” Steve said, setting his pencil and pad down and coming over to sit on the edge of the bed, “relax, you have full access to Jarvis, you have an endless list of movies-”

Tony sighed and absolutely did not pout. “I’m bored already.”

Steve kissed Tony on the temple. “This is what you get for pulling dangerous stunts.” He stood up, his hand lingering on Tony’s shoulder, “when Peter comes home you can watch _Wall-E_ and _How To Train Your Dragon_ , I know how you love those.”

“Peter loves them, too,” Tony said defensively. 

“He’s five and a half, he likes all cartoon movies,” Steve said, walking back to his chair, “get some sleep.”

***

“Daddy, you’re home!” Peter said, the moment he was back from kindergarten. He jumped up on the bed and threw his arms around Tony’s neck. 

“Oh, gently, gently,” Tony heard Steve by the door and instinctively tightened his hold on Peter. 

“No, it’s okay,” he said, “I got it, how was school?”

“Good,” Peter replied, “we did the letter H today and I drew uncle Bruce as the Hulk.”

Tony grinned. “That’s great buddy, did you show uncle Bruce?”

“Not yet, can we go over to his and uncle Clint’s and aunty Tasha’s house to show him?”

“Daddy has to stay in bed for a little while,” Steve said, “but I’m sure you can show them when they come over tonight.”

“You wanna watch a movie before dinner?” Tony offered. 

“Cappa, too,” Peter said, looking up at Steve. 

“Cappa, too,” Tony echoed, also looking at Steve and then grinning.

Steve sighed and took off his shoes with his toes. “I guess,” he said, unable to hold the smile back, “if you insist.”

He put an arm around Tony, with Peter snuggled between them. He managed to send Clint a message before _Wall-E_ started asking him to bring dinner. 

Clint only replied a winking smile. Steve rolled his eyes at that. No one can expect him to resist both Tony _and_ Peter. It was impossible. 

“Clint bringing dinner?” Tony asked.

“Yeah,” Steve replied.

Peter shushed them. “It’s starting!” 

Steve pulled Tony closer and Peter snuggled into his side. This was definitely better than anything he had planned.

***

Tony had fought tooth and nail to get out of bed, but Steve was having none of it. 

Finally, after nine days, he gave in and let Tony go to the workshop. 

Steve still caught him favouring one arm over the other, or wincing if he turned a certain angle. That is, of course, on the rare occasion he would leave the workshop. 

“He’ll come out eventually,” Pepper said, “there’s no dealing with him when he’s like this.”

“But I thought - I mean, we’re supposed to be-” Steve struggled for the words then stopped, “what did you used to do when he got like this?”

She shook her head and put up her hands, palms out. “Failed relationship remember?”

He looked at her in what he hoped was a pleading look. “I’m asking as a friend, as _his_ friend, when you were still...”

“Looking after him?” 

“He doesn't need looking after,” Steve said defensively. 

“Exactly,” she said, “be his partner, or whatever it is you’re calling it. Don’t be his caretaker, that’s what I’m here for.”

***

“Do you still think about it?”

“Think about what?” Bruce asked, not looking up from his tablet. They were alone for the day, Steve had taken Peter out for the day and the rest of the team were scattered, doing their own thing. It was just Tony and Bruce, and they had automatically confined themselves to the workshop-sometimes-lab at the house.

“When we first met, you said you put a gun in your mouth, do you still think about it?”

Bruce put down the tablet and stylus, interlinked his hands, then leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Sometimes,” he said, “mostly I wonder how I could have wanted that, how I could have gotten that low. It’s not something I want, not something I’ve wanted for years now.” 

Tony was silent for a long time, hands busy on the suits’ headpiece, face completely focused and impassive.

“Do you think about it?” Bruce asked. 

“What?” Tony asked, finally looking up looking at him, “No!”

“Sorry,” Bruce said, instantly backing up, “it's just - with your history-”

“Listen, I might be self destructive but not to the point of complete breakdown.”

“You're not a robot, Tony,” Bruce said gently. 

Tony bristled. “I know that.” 

“Okay,” Bruce said, leaning back into his chair, “Tony, why are you asking?”

“No reason, listen I need to connect with the torso,” he said, then got up and walked to the other side of the lab, sliding under another piece of the suit and effectively ending the conversation.

***

A month after Tony got home, him and Steve were asked to go to SHIELD headquarters, and they were asked to bring Peter with them.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Tony said to Steve as they were getting ready. 

“I’m sure it will be fine,” Steve said, “it’s probably another pop examination or something. Maybe they just want to see how you’re doing?” He grinned to show Tony he was kidding, but Tony still looked worried. “It’ll be fine,” he repeated, kissing Tony on the forehead, “I’ll go help Peter get ready, are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah,” Tony grumbled, so Steve left him to find Peter. 

Peter was hanging from the closet door, trying to get at the highest shelf. 

“Pete,” Steve said from the doorway, “what are you doing?”

“Cappa, I wanna wear my cape like uncle Thor,” Peter said, reaching for it again.

“Peter we talked about this,” Steve said, walking forwards and trying to pick Peter off the closet door, “we keep our secret identities secret.”

“But SHIELD is secret Cappa,” Peter said, letting go of the door and letting Steve put him down.

“How about we get some normal clothes on first and then we can talk about the cape?” he said, pulling down regular clothes from the closet. Peter allowed Steve to dress him and when they were done, he climbed back up the closet door. 

“Please, Cappa, _please_ ,” he begged, reaching for the red material at the back of the shelf, especially placed there to be out of reach.

“I’ll tell you what,” he said, “let’s do this thing with SHIELD, and then when we come back home you can be Thor, and I can be Captain America and we can play Avengers okay?”

Peter gave a heavy hearted sigh. “All right.” 

Steve put his hands out and Peter jumped into them. “All right,” he said, carrying Peter out of the room, “let’s go see how daddy is doing.”

***

“You want to what?” Tony asked again. 

Fury didn’t look too happy with having to repeat himself, but he did it anyway. “We found Peter’s blood relatives, his father had a brother that’s just surfaced,” he said, “you’re time with him is over.”

“You’re taking him away?” Steve asked. 

“You’re kidding, right?” Tony said, “it took you five years to find this uncle of his?”

“We’ve only been looking for him for six months,” Fury said, “once we determined that Peter was not going to be a danger to himself or others, we decided it was time he was moved to a more stable environment.”

“We are his parents,” Tony said, getting up, “you can’t just take give him away to some strangers he’s never actually met.”

“You will find that SHIELD is the one who has custody of the boy,” Fury said, “and though you may have looked after him, your home is anything but stable.”

“Fuck you!” Tony yelled, “we raised him from an infant, and we are a loving, stable place for him.”

“We’re his parents,” Steve repeated, standing next to Tony, “you can’t do this Fury.”

“He is a distraction from your duties,” Fury said, also standing, “you didn't even want him in the first place. This was always going to be temporary.”

“Temporary ended years ago!” Tony said, “temporary means weeks, or months, not fucking years!” 

“Things change, Nick,” Steve said, “he’s our son.”

“He was under your care, no more,” Fury said, “any extra attachments are on you, these people are his relatives, they will look after him.”

“You’re insane if you think we’re actually just going to give him up,” Tony said, leaning on Fury’s desk, “if you think these people will love him more than we do just because of blood.” He spat the word out, and Steve put a soothing hand on Tony’s shoulder.

“This is out of your hands, Mr. Stark,” Fury said, “you will get time to say goodbye, but Peter will not be returning home with you today.”

“You are, you’re actually fucking crazy!”

“This conversation is over Mr. Stark,” Fury said, then nodding at Steve, “Captain Rogers. There will be a small team coming over later today to collect his personal belongings. I suggest you either help them or stay out of their way.”

***

When they went to see Peter, Steve really didn't know what to say, but the moment they were close enough Tony got down on one knee and put both hands on Peter’s shoulders. 

“Peter, remember how we talked about family, and what that means?”

Peter nodded. “You said we had different relatives but we’re still family because you’re my Daddy and Cappa.”

“That’s right,” Tony said, his voice breaking. He looked down and when he looked up again his face didn't look any better, but his voice was steady. “But SHIELD have found some of your relatives, so you’re going to live with them now.”

“Why?” Peter asked.

“Because it’s better for you,” Tony said, “safer - me and Cappa have dangerous lives, it’s not - we just don’t want you to get hurt.” His voice hitched at the last word and he had to stand up and look away. 

Peter looked from Tony’s back to Steve, who was unprepared for this. “Don’t you want to be my daddies anymore?” 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tony swallow, and knew he couldn't continue, so he sat down on the floor and pulled Peter into his lap. “We will always want to be your daddies, okay?” he said, “But these people are related to you. They will care for you, and love you just like we do, and they can tell you more about yourself, and your history, wouldn't that be great?” 

“No,” he replied, sullenly, “I want to stay with you.”

“You can’t,” Steve said, “it’s like daddy said, it’s - it’s not safe.”

“But I don't wanna,” he whined, clinging to Steve’s neck. 

“You have to,” Steve said, “this is better for you, we’ll come visit you okay?” 

“Please, Cappa, _please_?” he tried, and he now had tears in his eyes, “I’ll be better, I won’t play with the cape anymore, I-I’ll eat all my vegetables, I won’t climb things anymore, please Cappa.”

“No, it’s not any of that, listen to me Peter, this isn’t your fault okay?” Steve said, “Whatever happens, you will always be our family. Remember what daddy said, family isn’t just relatives.”

“So why can’t I stay with you?” 

“This is just a new kind of family,” Steve said. 

The agent standing at the door put a hand to his ear and walked over to them. “It’s time, Mr. and Mrs. Parker are waiting for him.”

“Don’t talk about him like that,” Tony bit out, “he’s right there.” Then he went back down on his knees. “Come on, give daddy a hug.”

Peter threw his arms around Tony’s neck. “You promise you’ll come visit?” 

“I promise,” Tony said, his fingers digging into Peter’s thick jacket. 

“Mr. Stark,” the agent said. 

“Tony,” Steve said, more gently. 

“Can we - can we walk him to them, meet these people?”

The agent hesitated for a second and then nodded. So Tony picked up Peter and they followed the agent down hallways and through doors until they reached the lobby. 

There was a couple sitting on the couch, and Steve wanted to hate them, but they looked so normal that Steve started to get doubts. Maybe this _was_ better for Peter.

“Mr. and Mrs. Parker,” the agent said, “this is Tony Stark and Steve Rogers.”

They got up to greet them, the woman worrying a handkerchief in her hands. “This must be Peter,” she said, trying to catch his eye from where he was trying to hide in Tony’s shirt.

He turned to look at them at her voice and so Tony put him down. They crouched down in front of him, and they both smiled. 

“Hi Peter,” she said, “I’m aunt May, and this is uncle Ben. We knew your mom and dad.”

“This is my Daddy and Cappa,” he said, pointing to them.

The lady nodded. “You must love them very much.”

He nodded and she stood up. “Thank you for taking care of him,” she said, looking straight at Tony. 

Tony’s jaw clenched, so Steve entwined their fingers together. “Make sure you do the same,” he said. 

“He’s a good kid,” Tony forced out.

“Did you want to see the tree house?” Ben said, standing up and offering his hand to Peter. He turned to look at Tony and Steve and then took Ben’s hand.

There was so much Steve wanted to say at that moment but he couldn’t find the words, couldn't get past the lump in his throat. 

Just before they walked out, Peter turned for one last look at them and then he was gone. 

***

Steve doesn’t remember how long they stood there, or how they managed the drive home. He assumed Tony had something to do with it, but the moment they got home he was gone, down into the workshop. 

Steve could have been standing there for a minute or for an hour when the knock came at the door. 

When he opened it he found a handful of agents standing there with boxes, led by the SHIELD agent from earlier. 

“Can I help you?”

“We’re here to collect Peter Parker’s things,” he said. 

Steve frowned but let them in and led them to Peter’s room. He stayed with them while they packed, made sure they took Andy the monkey and the Thor cape with them. 

When they were gone, Steve just sat down in the empty room and tried to comprehend what happened, and if there was a way to fix it.

*** 

By the time he got up it was nightfall. He resisted the urge to search the house for any more of Peter’s things, anything to prove that he had been there. Instead he went down to the workshop to find Tony. 

When he got to the glass doors of the workshop he was momentarily afraid that Tony had locked him out, but the door clicked open and Steve walked in. 

“Tony,” Steve said, slowly making his way into the dimmed workshop. He never really knew what was going on down here, but it felt like there was more destruction than creation going on tonight.

Tony’s back was turned to him, shoulders hunched, head down.

“Tony,” he said again, “it’s gonna be okay.”

“How can you even say that?” Tony said, “This is not okay, it’s nowhere near the realm of okay.”

“I know,” Steve said, still inching his way closer to Tony, “but we’ll figure something out.”

“It’s too late,” Tony said, “they just took him and we just stood there, we _let_ them take him away from us, how is that even close to okay?”

Steve was finally close enough to put a hand on Tony’s shoulder. Tony turned around at the contact, trying to pull away, out of reach. He tripped over something and nearly fell backwards if it hadn’t been for Steve’s strong grip on his arm.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked, and mentally slapped himself on the forehead.

“I’m fine,” Tony said, pulling away from Steve again, and managing to walk away. Steve still caught a glimpse of his glazed eyes and the smell of alcohol.

“Tony,” he said again. He wanted to fix this, but he wasn’t sure what to say to make it right. And that’s just the thing, none of this was right.

“What we did, what we let happen, was dirt,” Tony said, “this is worse than Howard levels of shit, at least when they sent me away I knew I had something to come back to.”

“We’re going to fix this,” Steve said, “we’re going to get our son back.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” Tony asked.

“We-” Steve started and stopped. He took a breath and let it out. “I have an idea, but you might not like it.”

“If it means we can get him back then I need to give it a chance,” he said, “you have to tell me before I can tell you I hate it.”

“We go through the system, and we adopt him,” Steve said, “make it legitimate.”

“Okay, you’ve officially lost it,” Tony said, “who in their right mind would let _us_ adopt, we’re not even married, we’re barely even together.”

“So we get married,” Steve said, closing the gap between them so he could hold onto Tony’s biceps; so he could let Tony see how sincere he was, “I want to spend the rest of forever with you and our son, and if they need a piece of paper to prove to them that I’m never going to leave you then so be it.”

“Married?” Tony asked in a small voice, “that’s - that seems like a big step-”

Steve was suddenly struck with a thought. He let go of Tony and took a step back, as if expecting Tony to burst into flames. “You want to be able to leave.”

“What? No! No, don’t be stupid,” Tony said, “I want _you_ to have the chance to leave, what if you decide - or what if you meet someone, a woman-”

Steve felt a smile pull at his lips. “That’s not going to happen,” he said, “you and Peter, that’s all I want.”

Tony seemed to deflate, resting his head on Steve’s shoulder, so Steve put his arms around him, holding him.

Tony let out a slow breath.

“We’ll get him back,” Steve said.

“Whatever it takes.”

***

When Steve woke up the next morning, he found Tony awake, sitting cross legged on his side of the bed with a computer in his lap.

“So, since we’ve been taking care of him for so long, we can bypass a few steps,” was the first thing Tony said when he noticed Steve was awake.

“That’s good,” Steve said.

“It says here we don't even need to be married,” Tony said.

“Okay,” Steve replied, frowning.

“Yeah,” Tony said casually, “just another step we can bypass, this is really horrible, I’ve talked to some people, we have a meeting this afternoon.”

“You know SHIELD is going to try to stop us,” he said, trying to get past the way Tony had just dismissed the marriage thing.

“I don’t see why,” Tony said, “we’re the perfect candidates, there’s no reason for him to be moved to a new place, to new parents, to start over-”

“Tony, Tony,” Steve said, also sitting up, “it’s okay.”

“It’s _not_ ,” Tony countered, “who knows where Peter slept last night, what if he’s alone? What if he’s not dealing well with these new people-”

“Tony, I need you to be thinking clearly here,” Steve said, “I need you to be that genius billionaire playboy philanthropist you always brag to be.”

Tony’s eyes flicked to him and he smirked. “You always know the right things to say.”

Before Steve could reply, Tony closed the laptop and was getting out of bed. “We should start getting ready, the meetings start at noon, and you like to do that breakfast thing in the morning.”

“Come on,” Steve said, giving up on trying to follow, “I’ll make you some bacon and pancakes for all the hard work.”

Tony pecked him on the lips on his way out. “You’re perfect.”

Steve watched him go before slowly getting out of bed. He liked Tony like this a lot better than the way he was last night, but the sudden change was worrying. But, at least this Tony was productive, and if it helped bring Peter back, they can sort Tony’s relapse out later.

***

The week went by in a rush of meetings and people in suits and hard faces. Fury was not pleased, but not many people could stop Tony once he had an idea in his head. All SHIELD managed to do was slow them down a little. They saw Peter twice during that time, and each time he asked if he could come home now. 

They would get up early, and get home late, too tired to do anything more than collapse into bed. Sometimes Tony would reach for him in the middle of the night and hold on like his life depended on it. Sometimes he would wander away and Steve would pull him back and hold him close. 

He found Tony reaching for him in the courtrooms, or while walking down hallways. The worst part however, was the media. Every time they would walk out of a building they would be provoked and interrogated. Even though Steve was bigger and stronger, and much better suited for it, he always found himself being gently dragged along behind Tony, head ducked and avoiding eye contact.

“How can you stand it?” he asked Tony on the sixth day of this, “all the people and the flashing lights.”

Tony shrugged, not looking up from the paper he was annotating. “I’ve done it most of my life,” he said, “I’ve watched my dad do it, they’re like animals, they run on instinct - it’s not much different than fighting something on the field. Easier actually because they don't think beyond trying to get a response.”

“Howard took you through crowds like that?” 

“And we’ve taken Peter through them too,” he said, “it’s unavoidable for people like us.”

The reality of that hit him hard. They _had_ taken Peter through crowds like that, a couple of times before. 

“What if...” he started, “what if Fury’s right? What if growing up normal is-”

“Don’t,” Tony interrupted him, “don’t you dare do that.”

“I’m just thinking-”

“No, you can’t get doubts now,” Tony said, “there is no normal for us, it’s too late, haven’t you been listening? Be it spider bite or super serum or arc reactor, it’s too late for normal, and we’re the best equipped because we know, we’ve been there-”

“Sir,” Jarvis’ voice came through, “SHIELD is calling.”

“Fuck SHIELD,” Tony said, “if Fury thinks-”

“It’s Agent Coulson sir,” Jarvis said, “Avengers business.”

“We are not going to-” 

“Let him through, Jarvis,” Steve said, “I’ll take the call.” Then he looked at Tony, “it could be important, we don't have to go out, but we should hear Phil out.”

Tony clenched his jaw and sat down again, arms crossed, clearly angry at him. Steve stood up and picked up the nearest receiver. “Agent Coulson,” he said, “Steve speaking.”

“Steve, I know you probably don't want to hear from us but - are you sitting down?”

“No, why?” He looked at Tony in confusion, and despite his stance, Tony looked curious.

“I need you to be sitting down Rogers.”

“I’ll be fine, agent Coulson, and if you don't tell me-”

“Hydra has Peter.”

Steve nearly did sit down, right there on the ground, but then his own instincts kicked in. “Where?”

“We’re not sure,” he answered, “he was taken from the Parker’s house 30 minutes ago, they made a scene, the couple is alright but police were involved-”

“What do you know about Peter,” he asked, trying to not yell into the phone.

“We’re checking with intel now,” he said, “we think they’re holding him in an abandoned building just outside city boundaries, we’re assembling a team now-”

“Call the rest of the Avengers, and send us coordinates, we’ll meet everyone there.”

At the mention of Peter’s name, Tony had stood up again and was out the door in an instant. Steve followed him now, going down to the room beside the garage to suit up and jump on his bike. 

“Tony, come in,” he said into the comm unit the moment he’d connected it. 

“At your 12,” Tony said, and Steve looked up and found Iron Man flying just ahead of him, “where are we headed?” 

“Building just outside the city boundaries,” Steve replied, “do you have the coordinates?” 

“One seco- I have it, it’s just northeast of here, I can lead the way.” 

“The others will meet us there-” Steve started.

“They might not make it in time, turn left here, and straight until you hit the place, the road should curve a mile down, just follow it until the streetlights are gone.”

Steve turned sharply and watched as Tony flew further and further ahead of him. 

“You can’t deal with them alone,” Steve warned, “wait for us.”

“I’m not going to get there to wait, Cap,” Tony said, “I’ll start us off and you can deal with whatever’s left.”

“Steve, Tony-” Coulsons voice came through, “stop, you can’t go in there alone.”

“Not liking that plan, Coulson,” Tony said, and Steve could see the darkness now, the block of nothing in the night, which couldn't be anything but the Hydra base.

“It’s a trap, Tony,” Coulson said, “they left a note, asking for you.”

“I can handle myself,” Tony said. 

“Damn it,” Steve said, and hit the boost button on the bikes handlebars and held on as his bike hit speeds it really shouldn’t be doing. 

“Steve-” Coulson tried. 

“He’s right, Coulson,” Steve said, “we’re not just going to sit back and wait.”

“You’d be walking right into it,” Coulson said. 

In the distance he saw Tony land, and from a different direction he heard a loud roar. “I think we’ll be okay, I have the Hulk in my range.”

“Clint and Natasha should be close behind,” Coulson said, sounding resigned, “and there’s atmospheric disturbance suggesting Thor is also en route.”

“Thank you agent Coulson,” Steve said.

“Oh and Steve?” 

“Yes?” 

“Tear those fuckers apart,” Coulson said.

“Understood.”

***

The building was a lot bigger than it had looked in the darkness. He found the metal doors thrown off to the side and the walls around it had been made into a huge hole. Somewhere inside the Hulk roared again, and it echoed around the walls. 

Just before he could walk in, a quinjet landed behind him and Clint and Natasha jumped out. “Cap,” Clint said, “what do you need us to do?” 

“Find Peter,” he said, “I’m going to find who’s behind this. The moment you find him you report.”

They nodded and went in, splitting up the moment they were in the building. Steve could hear them talking to each other over the comm line, clearing rooms as they went. 

Steve went in, holding his shield high. “Tony,” he said, “where are you?”

“I’m on level 2, Hulk is in the south west corner, no sign of Peter yet,” Tony reported. 

“The Hulk-”

“He knows, he’s going after the Hydra agents, and mostly through doors.”

“Keep me updated,” he said, as he ducked a round of shots.

“Will do.”

He rushed the two Hydra agents coming at him, knocking one out with his shield and effectively blocking the other guys swing. They fought but he was no match for Steve. 

He continued on his way down the hallway, following a trail of bodies that Tony had clearly got to first. Those two must have been the last stragglers, trying to escape. He made his way up to the second floor, finding nothing but empty rooms, then he turned a corner and had to resist the urge to step back.

“Cap, you gotta see this,” Clint’s voice came in through the comm. 

“I think I’m looking at it now,” he answered, not taking his eyes off the new arrival. 

“A replica of one of us?” 

“Of myself.” He was dressed exactly like him, but instead of the red and blue, he was in green and yellow, with the Hydra emblem on his chest. 

He inched closer but the Hydra-him just smirked at him. 

“Where is my son?” he asked. 

“He’s ours now.”

“That’s not going to happen in your lifetime buddy,” he said, “or mine, so you might as well just tell us where he is and save yourself.”

Hydra-him’s smile only widened. 

“Have it your way,” Steve said, and swung. Hydra-him blocked it, and all of his other punches. He was doing his own swinging but Steve managed to see them all coming. It was more like a street scuffle than a proper fight, it felt like being back in an alley with a bully he wasn't sure he could take down. 

In the distance he heard the roar of the Hulk and an echoing roar. There were three of them so far. “Who are you?” he asked, his face close enough to see that the eyes behind the cowl where brown. Not a clone then.

“We are the Hydra four,” the Hydra-him said, “and we will defeat you.”

“Oh yeah? Well there’s six of us,” Steve said, “and you’ve just made two of us very, very angry.”

He let loose, knowing all of his own weak spots and went for them till Hydra-him fell to the ground. 

“Cap,” Tony’s voice broke through the rushing in his ears, “I think I found him.”

***

Tony was seeing red. He was taking down Hydra agents left and right without a second look to see if they were down for the count. 

“Jarvis, run a scan, find Peter.”

“Yes sir,” Jarvis calm voice came through and Tony felt slightly better, knowing there was more than just human power looking for him.

On the Avengers line he heard Cap directing Clint and Natasha. There was a smash to his left and the Hulk was suddenly grinning at him. 

“Hey big green,” he said, “keep an eye out for Peter okay? You know, little person, about this big?”

“Spider,” Hulk said.

“Exactly,” Tony said, “our little bug, kill everything else in your way.”

“Smash!” the Hulk roared, and broke his way through the rest of the wall to make his way down the hallway. 

Tony walked down the hall way, kicking down any doors that were still locked. 

“Sir,” Jarvis said, “I detect a life sign that correlates with Peter’s, I suggest you make your way to the fourth floor, second to last room on the left.”

“Cap,” he said into the Avengers line, “I think I found him. Fourth floor, I’ll meet you there. Jarvis, route the fastest way to get there without destroying the integrity of the building.”

“Yes, sir,” Jarvis said, and the plan was there; ahead, and up the stairwell, through the thin floors in between levels. 

He flew to the stairs and smashed his way up, he found Steve on the landing between the second and third floor. 

“Need a lift?” Tony said, putting his arms around Steve and made his way up to the last floor, with Steve shielding them from the rubble. 

“Second to last room,” he said, mostly to himself, “on the left.” He could see it himself now, the little red energy signal which could only be a person, and much too small to be an adult. 

He forced the door open, breaking the lock in the process. 

“Daddy! Cappa!” And suddenly he had an armful of Peter.

“Peter, oh my god, are you okay?” he pulled away to let Jarvis scan him. 

“I’m okay daddy,” Peter said, just as Jarvis confirmed it. He raised the mask and looked at Peter with his own eyes, searching for any signs of injury. 

Steve was kneeling next to him, and Peter threw his arms around him to be picked up. “Can I come home now?” he asked, “Please?”

“Yes, yes,” Steve said, “you’re coming home with us.”

“We’re not letting you go again,” Tony confirmed. 

***

When SHEILD finally arrived, they were just in time for the clean up. Tony took Peter down and out of the building. The medics checked over him while he sat in Steve’s lap, and then they drove them to headquarters, with Tony flying ahead. 

When they made it to Fury’s office for the debrief, he looked at Peter in Steve’s lap and back at them. “Do you really think it best he stays here?”

“Well we’re not releasing him into your care again,” Tony said, “if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Hasn’t he been through enough?” Fury asked.

Tony stood up suddenly, but before he could say anything, Bruce put a hand on his arm, and stood up next to him. “I don’t think separating him from his parents right now would suit anyone, director.”

Fury shrugged, and took his seat, and so did Tony and Bruce. “What do we know about these guys?” he asked the room. 

“They call themselves the Hydra four,” Steve said.

Thor nodded. “My replica said they are four of six.”

“I’m guessing they’ve made one for each of you,” Fury said.

“So why only release four?” Bruce asked, “that doesn't make sense.”

“I don't think they counted on such a... violent attack,” Fury said. 

“Actually I think they might have been a test run,” Tony said, “you all managed to take down your own clones.”

“Actually Natasha took mine down,” Clint said and grinned. 

Natasha rolled her eyes. “I know Clint’s weak spots,” she said, “if this was a perfect copy it made sense he had them too, but it was like they were weaker than normal, you know?” 

Steve nodded. “I noticed that too,” he said, “it’s like I knew where to get him better than he did.”

“They’re interrogating the Hydra-Hawkeye now,” Coulson said, “but the others managed to get away before we got there.”

“They’re not perfect clones,” Steve said, “I don’t know about the others, but mine had brown eyes.”

Coulson nodded. “We think they were original Hydra agents who volunteered for the procedure. Some sort of DNA transfer.”

“Volunteers?” Bruce asked, looking slightly horrified, “who would do that?” 

Tony’s eyes flickered to Bruce before turning to Fury. “I think it’s safe to assume their ‘test’ was a failure,” he said, “if anything, they’re going to be busy reworking their formula, or at least making their agents stronger.”

“I think that’s everything,” Coulson said, “I think we’ve gotten all of the information we need.” He looked at Fury and Fury sighed. 

“Fine,” he said, “thank you for your help.”

As they all collected their things and started to walk out, Tony hesitated. Only Steve noticed, turning to him, Peter’s already dozing form in his arms. “Are you coming?” 

Tony placed a hand on Steve’s arm and a soft kiss in Peter’s hair. “You go ahead,” he said, “I’ll be right behind you.”

When the room was empty except for Fury and himself, Tony approached him. 

“Can I help you with anything else, Mr. Stark?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” Tony said, making sure to invade Fury’s space, “you ever take my son away from me again, and it won’t be just Hydra agents I tear down.”

“Are you threatening me, Mr. Stark?”

“No,” Tony said, poking Fury in the chest, “I’m giving you a warning. I don’t care what you think you know about my family, don’t you dare interfere again.”

“I was doing what I thought was best-”

“That’s not your call,” Tony hissed to stop himself from yelling, “that’s not your call to make, we are his parents, and no normal bullshit blood relatives will change that.”

“Those normal bullshit blood relatives are fine, by the way,” Fury said, “in case you were wondering.”

“What a fucking relief,” Tony said, “I’m sure they’re so glad their nephew got their house invaded. You don’t know shit Fury, good luck getting someone else to fund your little experiments.”

And with that, he turned and left. He found Steve waiting just outside the door. “Let’s go home.”

“Was that really necessary?” Steve asked, taking Tony’s hand with his free one as they started to walk away, “You know he’ll find a way to get that funding back.”

“I’ll make sure it won’t be for a long while,” Tony said. 

“Cappa?” Peter stirred, his eyes still closed, “are we going home now? Can I sleep in your bed tonight?” 

“Yeah,” Steve said, “of course.”

Tony felt himself relax for the first time in months. His family wasn’t ever going to be normal, but it was his, and it wasn’t going anywhere.

**Author's Note:**

> I know I've left a handful of unresolved issues, but if I tried to explore them in this piece it would never be finished. Don't worry, I've made a list and I will talk about everything I've left hanging (that I'm aware of). Thanks for reading <3


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